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Then there was Marius himself. If only tonight's behavior was taken into account, he didn't deserve any consideration at all. But he was one of theirs, too, and it was as obvious to Tyler as it was to Marguerite that the man was on an accelerating crash-and-burn slide. If he needed fixing and there was a way to do it, Tyler couldn't bring himself to turn his back on him.
He thanked God every day for the skills honed over a lifetime that had helped him reach his wife's heart. He'd found the way with his angel after they'd skated so perilously close, not only to the destruction of her soul, but her very life. They'd come out the other side, full into the light of the blessings that shone upon them now.
But it wasn't just practicality and skill that had taken him there. He'd learned to believe in signs. While he wasn't converting to crystals and rainbow aromatherapy anytime soon, he couldn't ignore the connection between Regina and Marius the tapes showed.
A knock on his door brought him out of his musings. Alex put his head through the opening. "Ready for them, sir?"
Tyler closed the two files. "Did she agree to come?"
At Alex's nod, Tyler pursed his lips. Another sign. "Good. Bring them in together."
Tyler noticed Marius sauntered in ahead of Regina, deliberately stepping in front of her before Alex could stop him. Interesting. Even at his worst, Marius always played the gentleman, at least in the predictable ways. Regina's russet eyes flashed, but her lips tightened against what Tyler suspected was a grim smile.
Rising, Tyler gestured to a chair. "Please sit down, Lady Regina." He cut his attention to Marius, deliberately evaluating him from head to toe in the revealing shorts. Tyler was straight, and so was Marius. However, since The Zone had a higher percentage of gay males than the norm for a mixed orientation club, Marius handled his fair share of offers. As a result, he didn't have hang-ups about being under male perusal. Usually. Being called to task nearly naked before a male Dom who was about to chastise him clearly didn't please him.
"You stand," Tyler said sharply, and got right to it. "How many warnings have I given you about this shit?"
"It isn't my fault if a Mistress bites off more than she can chew."
Oh yeah, the man was worked up, emanating a hot-blooded stress even through a sullen mask. Tyler noted a slight tension in Regina's hand, resting on the chair arm. Her eyes were on Marius, watching him with the unwavering focus of a Domme who knew he needed some type of grounding.
Well, he was going to have to do without. Sitting down, Tyler leveled a cold gaze on Marius he knew was effective, since Alex and Regina responded to it by going more still. Even Marius looked as if he knew he should step down on the attitude.
"Was that my fucking question?" Tyler asked pleasantly.
"No. No, sir." Marius might have pulled off the honorific if not for the biting edge. Regina crossed her long, beautiful latex-clad legs, her manicured nails tapping the chair arm in a meditative manner. She was absorbing him like a sponge, Tyler realized. Which was what an experienced Domme did when she'd decided she was very interested in something. In someone.
"Then answer it," Tyler continued. "I wouldn't suggest you ask me to repeat the question."
"Yes. I've been warned three times." Marius's tone went wooden, his eyes flat and focused on the wall above Tyler's head. He was bracing for impact. A wise decision, since it was coming.
"Thank you. That's it, then. Your membership is terminated, effective immediately."
Marius stiffened. "I work the floor tomorrow night--"
"No, you don't. Your employment is likewise terminated. You've alienated your last Mistress in this club. Tonight you crossed the line into abusing one."
Marius's gaze snapped to Tyler. "I didn't touch her."
Tyler leaned forward, pinning him with a dangerous look. "Abuse doesn't come only from a fist."
Marius's face went white. For an instant, Tyler saw a dark flatness in his gaze that reminded him of a suicide bomber he'd interrogated.
Forget it. Damaged or not, angel, he's done. Yet a tone of desperation entered Marius's voice Tyler couldn't ignore.
"There's nothing in the session between me and Siren to show me at fault."
"Everything in that video shows you at fault." Tyler's voice cut across his, slashing steel. "This isn't a democracy or a court of law. It's a benevolent dictatorship, and you are not in control."
Tyler leaned back again as a weighted silence descended on the room. Regina's eyes met his. Her face was impassive, revealing nothing, but the lock of her gaze was a message itself. He bit back a sigh.
I don't like this. If she gets hurt...
It is her choice to make. Give her the opportunity. Good Goddess, Tyler, she was a C.O. at a maximum-security prison. Who conducted The Zone workshop on physical takedowns? She did.
A man knew he was irrevocably married when he could conjure full conversations in his head with his wife, even when she wasn't present.
"Your membership termination may not be permanent."
